chambers



B. CHAMBERS.

CANNON.-

,612. Patented Ju1y-31, 1849i.

-by declare that the following is a full,

UNITED STATES l PlrrnN'r OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MOVABLE BREECHES FOR FIRE-ARMS AND THE LOCKS AND APPURTENANCES 0F THE SAME.

Specification 10i-ming part of LeLtersPaient No. 6.612, dated July 31., 1549.'

ATo @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN CHAMBERS,

District of Columbia, have yinvented a new and useful Improved Cannon; 4and I do herel clear, and exact description thereof, reference .being had `to Vthe accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification.

My improvements have reference as well to the construction as to themode of using can non, the object being to produce such an improvement in fire-arms as will secure all the strength necessary, together with suitable .weight of metal and a prompt, safe, and easy mode of charging and discharging the piece. Ihe material of my cannon is wrought-iron.

`Iam aware th at this material has been already vemployed in various ways for the purpose of constructing heavy ordnance; that staves' of iron and hoops of the same materialhave been put together in alternate layers until a cylindrical or conical mass of suitable magnitude had been produced; that solid masses have been forged and subsequently bored out to the required interiorsize; .that vseries of rings have been piled up and held together with bolts passingthrough them lengthwise of the gun, and fasten ed at each end by screw-nuts, or with straps runningfore andaft on the outside also, that dat rings have been made separately and welded together `into a pile of suicient height to constitute 'the length of the gun. I am aware-that serious objections have inpractice been found .to exist against all these 'modes of form-ing`wrought-iron'eanuon, and I have devised the following, which I consider decidedly preferable to any hitherto 'in use.

To obviate the danger of 'erystallizing the iron by welding it in large masses, I form my cannon of pieces of ainodcrate thickness only,

. commencing with the tube'a` a, as seen in section at Figs. L5, yand 8, the interior of which -tube is the bore of the gun, and the outside'is turned to receive a series of rings, a a', 182e.,

which have an interior diameter such that they will not, when cold, pass onto the tube a, but

when heated will readily Slip on and come to. the required position.: I avoid 1vtoo great a heat, fonthe' purpose of preventing oxidation et: the rings, and`determine the diameter of the lnterior of the rings as comparedwith that of the exterior of the tube on the principle of the law of expansion of wrought-ironwhich I compute at about seven-milliouths parts, oi 5 1 its dimensions ior every degree I* ahrenheit te which itis heated above the freezing-point o1 water.` Having shrunk the rings a a', Fig. 5, upon the barrel a, I place in asimilar manner, by heating and shrinking on, the rings ama, so astobreak joints with the rings a a', and when a.v greater number of courses of rings is necessary they are placed on the preceding series in the same manner as the second series isplaced upon the first--that is, so asv to break joints with each other. The rings may all be prepared separately and finished ready t0-be put together or., when one set hasbeen yplaced K upon the barrel aI thrughoutits length. the piece thus formed may be placed-in a lathe,- 'and the exteriors of the rings turned allto- Vgether, so as to receive the next tier of rings.A

Instead of turning thebarrel a. (Figs.` 5 and 8) of a cylindrical form and shrinking on the. rings a a, &c`., with .so-much tension as to make them adhere firmly by the mere friction thereby created, I shallin some cases, either in whole or in part, turn the barrel a, as rep-j resented in Fig.l 4, having alternately ele`Vvrl vated portions o o and dcpressedportions t' 1'. To t these elevations and depressions,A the rings ala will be formed on ytheiriun'er sides with reverse depressions and elevations anlswering to the ridges and. cavities turned on a.Y Ihe edge j' of the ring a is of such inte# rior diameter that it will not, when cold, pass over the" ridge o on the. barrel a; butwhen heated to the prop-er temperature it will come into place, and'then the contraction f metal brought into firm contact with fi, and g into contact with o, leaving the barrel at all parts iirmly griped by the rings, but not so straining the latter as to diminish essentiallythc te,- nacity o f the ring when cold. In deciding how high the elevations may be made consistently with ease-in getting on rings, and withv due adhesionA after they are cooled, I calculate the expansion at'the temperature used in put-ting on the rings, and ascertain and give to the diarneters at o and atvlth'e same relations as the ring a will have at the edge, f in'its not and:` its cold state, respectively but in turning the rings a. I leave their interior diameters in the ing back of L may be possible, the `iem'ale respective' parts slightly less than that of .the screw t t, Fig. 5, is about 'one-halt' cut away -barrel at theip'arts onwhich they are severwithin the barrel'g, being removed longitudially to be set.- This isi`or the purpose of havnally, on valternate portions of the periphery, ing every part of the .ring when cold brought as the same is Aexhibited/at o, Fig. 2, while in into a 'moderate tension, but not overstrained. the other two alternate quarters the thread is By means of therate above stated for the exleft as at t in the same figure. To the vacant pansion of iron by heat. and assuming the temspace o', Fig. 3, corresponds the ,full thread t. perature of 1,000 above the freezing-point at Fig. 2, and to the vacant space o, Fig. 2, the which the rings might be able to pass onto the full thread t', Fig. 3. -By this arrangement of barrel, I find that if the ring has at its edge the threads the male screw on the breech-piece f a diameter of six inches when cold, its dii slides with its remaining sections of threads .'ameter atg (and that of the barrel at o) may between the remaining sect-ions of threads of be made w-D-o-XLOOOXGz- T of an' inch the female screw until the conical partuof the more in diameter .than at 1'.,- or it may be 6.042 breech-piece; Fig. 4, cornes into contact with 'inches in diameter. As successive rings are the seat u,Fig. This sliding is eected'by put on, the relative diameters at the depressed pushing forward the lever L inthe slotJ until and at the elevated parts of the interior and it comes t'o the vertical or cross slot Y, when, of the exterior rings will remain the same ns, by a partial turn to the right, as seen at L, above; but :the absolute heights of the ridges -Fig. 5, the threads of the male screw take into over, which the edges ofthe rings must pass those of the female'screw, andwith accuracy will increase in proportion as the diameter inclose the chamber. of the gun. creases. The exterior peripheries of all'the The operation of openingthe gun' tol deseriesof rings, exceptthelast, have depressions posit a charge is, first, to turn L up into a vero' turned on their middle parts, which depres- .tical position, s o that the Isegments of screw sions are to receive the ends of .the next series may slide ont, draw it backward tothe end of of rings a". The last-series (am, Fig. @will the slot J, vand then swing G roundon' the be turned o to the regp'lar conical form of hinge has above described. In the end ofthe the finished cannon. t The trunnionsT T, Fig. breech-piece is an opening through which the 5, are forged with one of the outside rings, point mis momentarily thrust forward when which, for the purpose of strengthening the struck by the hammer h, to strike the fulmiconnection, may be made thicker than the nating powder in the cap c, Figs..4 and 5,101 other exterior rings. on the end of the cartridge at c 'Figs 7 and 8.;

It is not necessary that all the rings com- The Icap is placed on aconical i'rnstum turned posing a cannon should be made of the saine in thel end of the breech-piece by forming diameter for the same series; but they may in therein a groove, a', Figs. 4 and5.. The platecrease gradually from the muzzle toward the cap c, attached-to the cartridge, Fig. 7, hasn breech end of the cannon,- as represented in -nipple, n, penetrating vthe envelope e, and this Figs. 4, 5, and' 6. l nipple is open' atits point.` In either'of these The portion of my cannon near the breech modiiicationsthe essential feature is preserved 'is tapered to a greater extent than has been of igniting the fulminating powder inf-direct generally customary, this part 'being reprccontactwith the cartridge, whereby an exceedsented in Figs. 4, 5, and 8 by thc'cnrved line ingly small quantity is made to suffice and all z w. The ring of the cartridge is made to the force which it produces isv'usefull v'emtake place at c, Fig. 5, about opposite to the ployed in projecting the missile. By p acing point z. and where t-he diameter of the gun is the cap c with its nipple n pressed .through greatest. thecovering eof the-cartridge the charge .of My cannonis' so constructed asto be opened a cannon', composed of thc ball b, the 'gun-- and loaded at the breech. 4For this purpose powder p, and the fulminating priming con-l fromthe rear end of the gun, at w, is cut, in tained in c, is all deposited at once within the interlor of the barrel a, a thread of screwl the chamber` ofthe gun, so that-the separate t, Fig. 5, in order toreceive the male screw operation ofv priming is dispensed with and Figs. 4 and 5. Within the breech-piece', ou .time is economized. l When the p is made which is cut Athe thread t', is'contained the lock separate from the cartridge, itis placed in the of the cannon. The manner of cutting away usual manner upon the conical frustum immethe screws is more fully seen at t and t', Figs. diately before swinging G, Fig. 4, round into .2 and 3. line with the axis of the gun. The cap c may The manner' in which the' breech piece and be so made as to'be filled with the percuionlock are withdrawn for the purpose of chargvpowder in the usual manner, or apellet of the ing the cannon is seen at G, Fig. 4, where k is fulminate may be pressed into the cavityr iny a hinge about which G, the barrel containing the nipple at the moment the c/ap is about to the breech-piece' and lock, vibrates horizonbe set upon its frusta-m vof cone. tally when-t' has been drawn backward by the Fig. 8 represents the manner of placing the cord c and handle H of the hammer h, or by charge in the chamber of my cannon. C isthe turning the lever L, Fig. 4, from a horizontal cartridge within a thin cylindrical.. metallic to a vertical position, and pushing it ,back to shell, s, of sufficient length to reach from the' the place .L near Y.n In order that this push- 'rear extremity ofthe gun to poin't where the .throughthe shield 'to forward end of the screw t, Fig. 5, terminates, and where the chamber of the gun commences. This shield has an enlargement in the form of a flat ring or flange, j', at thc rear end, which prevents it from passing beyond the necessary distance into the gun. rlhe cartridge being placed in the shield, the latter -is slipped into the breech'of the gun. The rammer It, having a shoulder,s, adjusted to arrest its motion when it comes against tlle-iiangef of the shield, is then used to push the cartridge the position indicated by the dotted figure C. The rammel' has near lthe shoulder s a little enlargement of the cylthroughto the muzzle.

and 3, may be use inder, (seen at a5) whereby the shield is made to adhere to the rammer by friction and to be withdrawn from the breech. At the extremity of/theralnmerKis a projectingpoint, called a perforatoly which, while pushing thecarfridge, penetrates the envelope and opens a directpessage for the nipple c, Figs.,4 and 5,

to enter. NVhen the plate-cap is attached to the: cartridge, however, this point becomesl unnecessary, and the e'nd of the rammeris left plain', or may be slightly concave, so as not to 4 press `with great force against the cap in the center of the end of the cartridge. When the gun has been discharged, the swab or brushB is. inserted at the breech and driven quite During t-his operation also the shield smay be inserted in the breech, so as to defend the screw from any deposit of impurity -upon the threads of screw t, Fig. 5.

The double-spr'ng barrel-lock, Figs. 1, 2, in the modification there seen in other cannon besides those which openv at the breech. In this case the dissected` male -and female screw are arranged on the same y ilar parts in Fig.- 5.

plan as above described. The touch-hole is enlarged to certain depth, and a female screw is cut to receive thescrew E in the lower end of the percussion-box M.. NVithin this box is the dissected female Ascrew t, the valve-seat 1 and the shoulder for lodging the pellet o f percussion-powder p. On one side is the projecting stopm, to pass `into a corresponding cavity, n', on the barrel B and'prevent its being inserted in a wrong position. The letters of referen'ce on this lock correspond to those o n sim- XVhen the handle His dra-wn back in either lock, so as to compress the screwl) and raise the hammer 7i, above'the trigger F, the point ot' thetrigger is pressed either by the hand or by a spring, r, Fig. 2, into the space below the hammer, which may or may not have a notch, a, to receive its point.

In Fig. '2, h isseen elcva'ted,or the gun is cocked. In Fig. 5, F is represented as j ust withdrawn by the cord c asin the aet'of discharging thev piece.

The dotted lines in M, Fig. 2, represent the vposition of the hammer m when the barrel B is inserted in its place and ready to act. The vent of thegun is kept closed against the exit of any of theproducts of explosion by the 'conl.and lever L, whereby .edges of the threads,

and y on thebarrel B inlke' manner/makes with y a valvejoint similar to lthat formed in Figs.` 4 and 5 byu and lu. After each dis- 'charge with the lock li, Fig. a quarter-turn enables the screw t to be lifted out of M, in orderthat the latter. may receive a 'fresh pellet, p, after which, in placca-nd raising II, the lock, is ready-for a fresh discharge. f

I consider the lock Figs. 1, 2, and` 3 to be identical in principle and only modified in its application with the lock Figs. 5 and 6. I therefore waive any separate claim forv it in this application, as it is in every application my own invention.

I also consider the manner of using ymy cannon with a cap, C, having 'a perforated nipple, n, Fig. 7, permanently attached to the cartridge, to be but a modification of that manner which applies the cap with a perforated nipple for entering the envelope ofthe cartridge at the end of the breech-piece, whereby it is brought against the base of the cartridge. I also consider it safe to apply the perforated nipple-cap to the end of the breech-piece, then to the end ofthe cartridge.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, lis

1. Forming the breech of a. gun and its breech piece or-pin with sectional screws tand `t', cut therein for the purpose, of

opening the'breechfor swabbing, depositing4 the load, and readily closing it again when the speedily gun is to be discharged, jas herein set forth.

2. In combination with 'a' sectional-screw breech-piece, the hinged support G, the slot Y, the said breech-piece is easily moved into and out of p'lane in closing and opening the gun, for the purposes herein set forth. n 3. Formingthe gun-lock in such a manner that vthe hammer-rod and the percussion-rod shall be in separate pieces, lying axially within the same barrel, whereby the coiled mainspring is made to urge the hammer-rod fagainst the head of the percussion-rod to discharge the piece, and the recoil-spring on the percussion-rod is made immediately to draw back and hold the valve, which closes the in'- terior of the lock against access of smoke and gases, as herein set forth.

y 4. In .combination with a gunl llavinga dissected screw-breech, the flanged shield S, through which the cartridge is made'tqpass into the chamber (Wer the dissected screw without danger of being broken by theends and as herein set forth.`

5. The perforated point or nipple on the `percussion-cap, for penetrating the inclosing material of the cartridgeand vinsuring the discharge of the gunpowder when the percussion is given in the rear of the cartridge, in the manner herein set forth.

6. In combination-With arammer forgcharfing guns at the breech, the projecting central point, n, whereby the cartridge, in being driven to its place in the chamber, is perforated at 2, the giving of by inserting B its base to receive the point of the percussion-vv cap herein described, for the purpose of insuring the ignition of the gunpowder, as Set fort-h.

the rmn1ner,whereby the shield through which the cartridge luis been' rammed is niade to,

adhere by friction to the remmer, und to bel drawn ont; of. the breech of the gnu Without requiring a separate operation for taking it out; and I wish it to be uudeistood that in 7, The enlarwement a: near the slionldersofl these claims I shall not; eonne myself to the exact arrangement of parts herein described., but shall wrijft-he seme. at. pleasure, while I attain the Same ends hy'mezms substantially' 

